Notes:
Fazenda Boa Vista was the lot we wanted from the outset of the 2002 Brazil
C.O.E. Auction, even though the International judges didn't put it in their
top 5. I cupped all the samples that were expedited to us in the days before
the auction (December '02) and what surprised me was the uncharacteristic
acidity in the top 5 coffees. Indeed, the Panel had chosen winning coffees
that were more like Guatemalan and Costa Rican coffees than those with true
Brazilian origin character. And in a cupping with Guat or CR those coffees
wouldn't have ranked that well. I wanted a coffee with exceptional Brazilian
character, and that was why we went after the Boa Vista (and it seems others
did to because the bidding for this lot was fierce, changing ownership more
than 20 times in the day. The BSCA provides a lot of information about this
farm: Faz. Boa Vista is a part of the much larger farm, Fazenda Tabuoes.
Tabuoes is run by an agronomist, and it quite an elaborate operation, with
an amazing amount of land and variety of coffee cultivars growing there:
1,447.22 hectares, with the following varieties under production: Acaiá,
Aramosa, Yellow Bourbon, Red Bourbon, Caturra, Typica, Mundo Novo, Yellow
Icatu, Red Icatu and Catuaí. The Boa Vista plot is Yellow Icatu,
and was selected as the best cup quality of the coffees from Tabuoes and
entered into the Cup of Excellence auction. With an altitude of 1,150 meters
and average temperatures of approximately 22 Celsius the region has well
defined seasons during the year, enhancing the production of the best coffees.
Harvesting in the fields is partly mechanized and partly manual. The harvested
coffee is immediately transferred from production fields to washers. The
water used to process coffee is from artesian wells, and after being used,
it is treated and used for irrigation, eliminating any possibility of damage
to nature. The beans are dried under the sun in concrete terraces for three
days. Immediately after, the beans are transferred to the dryers that use
hot water as their source of heat. The temperature of the dryers does not
go beyond 30 Celsius. The beans are removed from the dryers when they reach
11 percent humidity. Initially, coffee is stocked in wooden bins for a period
of approximately 60 days to homogenize bean humidity. Subsequently, the
coffee is ready to be reprocessed and packaged in burlap bags. Drying under
the sun is made in fine layers and the coffee is turned many times during
the day to ensure homogeneity and to avoid any possibility of fermentation.
Dryers possess an absolute temperature control that is in contact with the
beans, allowing them to be dried uniformly and consistently. Beans are electronically
selected using a SORTEX 90.000 equipment, ensuring their accuracy and consistency.
The cup? It is very Brazilian: there is a pronounced dry-roasted peanut
flavor in the lighter roasts, exceptional body, hints of dark fruit, and
a pleasant smoke in the aftertaste. Its a cup that is subtle and doesn't
really come into its own until the cup has cooled a bit. Roasted to a Full
City + (a few snaps into second, and I prefer this roast) the origin character
persists with more sharp nutty notes, and a pleasant carbony-smokey flavor
that emerges in the aftertaste (which is quite long). It is exceptional
as espresso, but not when roasted too light, in which case it is sour. Roasted
to a solid Vienna, then rested 2 days, it is a great Ristretto (short espresso).
Some cups seem to have more of these deep fruit notes, and sometimes I have
trouble finding it. But this makes it a pleasure when it is there!

Compare
to: A really good Brazil, of course! I actually had the chance to cup
this against some other arrived 2002 Brazil Auction lots that other roasters
won, and am really happy with our choice to go after the Boa Vista. This
has that distinct dry-roasted peanut flavor that others totally lack. I
have a page with this review and more pictures
of the farm/our shipment.

Ecological coffee
planted according to an Environment Adaptation Program, using processes
that respect human beings. Ecological coffee planted according to an Environment
Adaptation Program, using processes that respect human beings.

Daterra Atividades
Rurais Ltda. is managed by agronomist Leopoldo Sant'anna. The first farm,
in Franca (State of São Paulo), was acquired by the group in 1987, and
Patrocínio (State of Minas Gerais) farms in 1993.

Climate in the
Patrocínio region is one of the best to produce arabica coffees. With
an altitude of 1,150m and average temperatures of approximately 22ºC,
the region has well defined seasons during the year, enhancing the production
of the best Gourmet coffees.

We were sent images of the bags being sewn
and loaded from the warehouse in Brazil after the auction. Look at all that
coffee behind our small lot of Boa Vista!

Sustainable development
is one of the company's major concerns. Daterra's environmental policy is
determined by coffee plantations that live harmoniously with the original
vegetation and with the region's population. The company implemented in
its farms an environment adaptation system, created by a team of the Escola
Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz" (College of Agriculture "Luiz
de Queiroz" of the University of São Paulo - ESALQ/USP), for the plantations
not to hinder but to become part of the environment. Furthermore, one of
the Daterra's farm, Fazenda Boa Vista, holds an ISO 14001 certificate.

Daterra has between
300 and 1,800 employees (this oscillation is due to the large number of
employees who are hired during harvesting time) and provides the best working
conditions and a friendly atmosphere for the employees' families, with schools,
day care center and health care services.

Coffee processing system:

Coffee harvesting
in the plating fields is partly mechanized and partly manual. The harvested
coffee is immediately transferred from production fields to washers. The
water used to process coffee is from artesian wells, and after being used,
it is treated and used for irrigation, eliminating any possibility of
damage to nature.

The beans are dried
under the sun in concrete terraces for three days. Immediately after,
the beans are transferred to the dryers that use hot water as their source
of heat. The temperature of the dryers does not go beyond 30ºC. The beans
are removed from the dryers when they reach 11 percent humidity.

Initially, coffee
is stocked in wooden bins for a period of approximately 60 days to homogenize
bean humidity. Subsequently, the coffee is ready to be reprocessed and
packaged in burlap bags. The bags used by Daterra are carefully selected,
acquired from a company that holds an ISO 9000 certification and are exempt
from odors that can affect the coffee.

Concern with quality:

Daterra takes great
care in producing fine coffees with a choice of the best arabica varieties,
including Bourbon and Mundo Novo. To ensure the high quality level of
its coffees, the company exerts great care and uses leading-edge technology
to separate only the ripe beans for processing.

Drying under the
sun is made in fine layers and the coffee is turned many times during
the day to ensure homogeneity and to avoid any possibility of fermentation.
Dryers possess an absolute temperature control that is in contact with
the beans, allowing them to be dried uniformly and consistently. Beans
are electronically selected using a SORTEX 90.000 equipment, ensuring
their accuracy and consistency.